This is my try: "don't you know that the weak regarding the body ("those with weak bodies", maybe I'm not entirely sure as to how you express this in english) by nature becomes stronger than those who neglect (their bodies)" and I'm not entirely sure that I got that bit right but I think I did more or less at least, it's the last bit "πρὸς ἃ ἂν μελετῶσι καὶ ῥᾷον αὐτὰ φέρουσιν" which confuses me the most.I don't know what I shall do with "πρὸς ἃ ἂν μελετῶσι" the rest is something like they carry <something> light. I would be very thankful if someone could help me out with this sentence.

Banana tree wrote:This is my try: "don't you know that the weak regarding the body ("those with weak bodies", maybe I'm not entirely sure as to how you express this in english) by nature becomes stronger than those who neglect (their bodies)" and I'm not entirely sure that I got that bit right but I think I did more or less at least,

You missed μελετήσαντες and ἰσχυροτάτων, so something like "..the weak... by practicing become stronger than those exceedingly strong who neglect..."

it's the last bit "πρὸς ἃ ἂν μελετῶσι καὶ ῥᾷον αὐτὰ φέρουσιν" which confuses me the most.I don't know what I shall do with "πρὸς ἃ ἂν μελετῶσι" the rest is something like they carry <something> light. I would be very thankful if someone could help me out with this sentence.

πρὸς [ταῦτα] ἃ ἂν μελετῶσι goes with κρείττους, "become stronger at whatever they practice". ῥᾷον here is the adverb "more easily" and φέρουσιν here means "bear" or "endure", so "both become strong... and endure those things [what they practice] more easily."

Banana tree, whoever you are, I'm 99% certain we are actually in the same class. (I'm Johan.)

I would guess that φύσει should be read together with ἀσθενέστατοι, so "weak by nature", "naturally weak".

As for τῷ σώματι, I wonder... The commentaries in our book wants to group it with ἀσθενέστατοι, but couldn't it just as well belong to μελετήσαντες, so that the translation would be "...after having trained (with regards to) the body..."? At least, unless I'm mistaken, that is how it is used in the following sentence: "...τῷ σώματι ἀεὶ τὰ συντυγχάνοντα μελετῶντα καρτερεῖν...", which I read as "...always training 'with regards to the body' to endure that which happen...". Or maybe τῷ σώματι here should be taken together with καρτερεῖν? Or even συντυγχάνοντα?!

Alatius wrote:As for τῷ σώματι, I wonder... The commentaries in our book wants to group it with ἀσθενέστατοι, but couldn't it just as well belong to μελετήσαντες, so that the translation would be "...after having trained (with regards to) the body..."?

EDIT: I think that's possible. Although it is probably an extension of φύσει, because they could be just as wellnaturally weak in their soul, mind, etc.